Case, Bezel & Crystal

The case itself is made of a brass alloy that has been chrome plated, this produces an effect similar to a polished stainless finish but is not as durable. With a watch at this price point I do not think this detracts from its construction and the finish on this watch is excellent, there are no rough edges and the bevelling and shape of the case is very pleasing, both on the wrist and off. The crown is set at the 3 o'clock position, it is unsigned and has a coin cut effect for improved grip, it is protected by a crown guard that flows out from the right hand side of the case between 2 and 4 o'clock. The guard is beveled down from the bezel allowing the crown to sit slightly proud, this provides easy access without sacrificing protection.

The crystal used on the Komandirskie is a domed acrylic crystal. This does come with some disadvantages over mineral or sapphire crystal, most notably the ease at which it scratches (I have written about the benefits and drawbacks of different crystals in an earlier blog post So You Want To Buy A Watch? ) on the plus side most surface scratches can be removed with a little elbow grease and a tin of Brasso . What it does lose in scratch resistance it gains in shatter resistance, it is unlikely unless great force is applied that the plastic face of this watch will shatter. As with a lot of domed crystal watches (but not all as this effect can be mitigated) there is a lensing distortion effect when viewed at acute angles, this can be seen in the above picture where the area between 7 and 4 is slightly distorted. When this watch is in normal use and on the wrist this is rarely an issue.

The bezel, is a unidirectional smooth movement non ratchet affair. On mine it is not particularly smooth and it requires a reasonable amount force to get it moving, is not easy to set to a particular interval and it really makes it a aesthetic feature rather than a practical one. Design wise it looks good and maybe I just have a badly manufactured one that could be fixed by removing, cleaning a reseating. Given that this watch is only rated for 3ATM and is never going to be used as a dive watch I do not think this is a particular loss, that said it would be nice to have done away with movable bezel altogether and had a differently designed case.

The caseback is a two piece construction in stainless steel and features an intricate engraving of a double headed imperial eagle, the coat of arms of the Russian Federation , this is an excellent flourish for a watch that is under £30

The case dimensions are 41.5mm wide and 44.5mm high, with a thickness of 11.2mm, I would say this is a comfortable size that will suit most wrists, it falls into what is currently considered the gentleman's standard size of 39 – 42mm. I have always found this watch enjoyable to wear and although smaller than some of my dive watches it sits well on the wrist.

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